Buzz Aldrin, the second man on
the Moon, has issued a stark warning that America must invest now in the
space agency Nasa, or surrender leadership of space exploration to Russia
and China

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Aldrin
revealed that he intends to lobby Barack Obama and John McCain, the two
US presidential candidates, in an effort to ensure they find sufficient
funds for Nasa's goal to establish a permanent base on the Moon and then
send a manned mission to Mars.

Nasa celebrates its 50th anniversary this year but
faces grave embarrassment. The ill-fated Shuttle is due to make its last
flight in 2010 but it will be a further five years before its replacement,
the Ares rocket and Orion crew capsule - also intended for trips to the
moon - are ready.

In that time American astronauts will have to hitch
lifts on Russian Soyuz flights merely to visit the International Space
Station.

Mr Aldrin, 78, said: "To me it's abysmal that it has
come to this: after 50 years of Nasa, and after putting about $100 billion
into the space station, we can't get our own astronauts to our space station
without relying on the Russians."

He said his message to the next president is this:
"Retain the vision for space exploration. If we turn our backs on the vision
again, we're going to have to live in a secondary position in human space
flight for the rest of the century."

He added: "These are important issues for consideration
by the potential leaders of our country. They're not welcome criticisms
for the present heads of NASA."

Earlier this month Rick Gilbreth, the head of the space
agency's lunar exploration programme, warned that Chinese astronauts were
on schedule to get to the moon by 2017 or 2018, two or three years before
America is due to return.

Mr Aldrin said: "All the Chinese have to do is fly
around the Moon and back, and they'll appear to have won the return to
the Moon with humans. They could put one person on the surface of the Moon
for one day and he'd be a national hero."

China only put its first astronaut into space in 2003
and its ambitions are more limited than Nasa's, but a Chinese moon landing
before America's would be a serious blow to morale in the US space industry.

On June 20, the House of Representatives pledged $2bn
(£1bn) in extra funds to narrow the gap between the last Shuttle
flight and the first flight by its replacement, but the money has not been
approved by the Senate and is likely to be vetoed by President Bush.

Mr Aldrin is critical of Nasa's failure properly to
fund commercial ventures for spacecraft which could take astronauts to
the space station between 2010 and 2015. He said: "If we really wanted
that to happen, we sure should have started putting more money into that
programme sooner."

...

Destination moon:
The Chinese are on course to make their first landing as early as 2017- ahead of a return visit
by America Photo: EPA

It is all a far cry from the national pride that accompanied
the Apollo programme, in which Mr Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong on to
the surface of the Moon in July, 1969.

Now he wants Nasa to generate the same kind of enthusiasm
as it mustered during the 1960s. "It's good for morale," he said. "The
biggest benefit of Apollo was the inspiration it gave to a growing generation
to get into science and aerospace. Are we inspiring the workforce now to
work on the things we need? No!"

Mr Aldrin is also critical of the approach taken by
Nasa in commissioning new crew vehicles that will splash down on water,
rather than on a runway like the Shuttle. He says that is the best design
for a moon vehicle, but will not encourage other ventures into space.

In particular, it will not be suitable for short flights
into low orbits, of a kind that could be used for space tourism - potentially
a valuable new source of revenue for Nasa. "Americans have been watching
for over 25 years spacecraft coming back and landing on a runway," he said.
"It is going to be a bitter disappointment to people here."

Meanwhile Russia may adapt and enlarge its own Soyuz
spacecraft in order to accommodate tourists, giving them an effective monopoly
of travel into low earth orbit.

India is also a keen participant in space, regularly
launching satellites and with plans to start testing a prototype reusable
launch vehicle later this year that could take off and land like an aeroplane.

Last year Japan became the first country since the
Apollo programme to launch an unmanned lunar orbiter. They have a stated
goal of setting up a manned moon base by 2030.

Mr Aldrin now acts as an ambassador for space exploration
and new developments in space technology through his company Starcraft
Boosters.

Mr Aldrin says he is joining forces with other space
campaigners to give his unvarnished views to the presidential candidates.

Republican John McCain has expressed support for the
Constellation programme to return to the Moon but the Democratic candidate,
Barack Obama, has questioned public interest in Nasa's space plans.

"I'm trying to assemble the best advice to two new
candidates who are approaching election," Mr Aldrin said. "There will be
one person preparing to take over the government in January to implement
things that are of great concern." The space programme was nowhere near
the top of the list, he said. "We want to get in there and talk to them
because it's so important.

"Globalisation means many other countries are asserting
themselves and trying to take over leadership. Please don't ask Americans
to let others assume the leadership of human exploration.

"We can do wonderful science on the Moon, and wonderful
commercial things. Then we can pack up and move on to Mars."

A group of individuals in the United States who have
a common interest in High-Frequency Gravitational Waves

Head by Robert M L Baker, Jr., PhD

Fangyu Li, PhDSenior Scientific Advisor, China

Zhenyun Fang, PhDSenior Scientific Advisor, China

Buzz Aldrin, Sci. Dr.Senior Scientific Advisor

Buzz Aldrin was educated at West Point, graduating
with honors in 1951, and was third in his class. He earned a Doctorate
in Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Manned
Space Rendezvous. On July 20, 1969, Buzz and Neil Armstrong made their
historic Apollo XI moon walk, thus becoming the first two humans to set
foot on another world. Since retiring from NASA, the Air Force, and his
position as Commander of the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base,
Dr. Aldrin has remained at the forefront of efforts to ensure a continued
leading role for America in manned space exploration. He has been interested
in High-Frequency Gravitational Waves since 1999 when he was briefed on
the subject by Dr. Baker. Dr. Aldrin heads Starcraft Boosters, Inc., Starcraft
Enterprises and the ShareSpace Foundation, and is Chairman of the National
Space Society. You are invited to visit: www.buzzaldrin.com.

The highly experienced team assembled
by Starcraft Boosters, Inc., representing over 200 years of combined space
transportation experience, is intensely committed to disciplined engineering
and business process standards, which will yield the highest quality products
on-time and on-budget. SBI provides program oversight and program management.
Starcraft Boosters, Inc. company personnel and associated contractors form
a highly qualified, efficient, experienced team that ensures project success.

Until a few days ago the plan was to hitchhike a ride
on a Russian Soyuz after the Shuttle is retired in 2010 and before its
replacement is ready in 2015, when American astronauts need access to the
International Space Station (ISS) .

Now we’re not so sure.

According to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson from Florida,
who spent 6 days in 1986 orbiting the Earth in the Shuttle Columbia (STS-
61C), “There will be consequences not just for Russia but for the U.S.
too. That’s a $ 100 billion investment up there that we won’t have access
to.”

The problem is a 2000 law that prohibits U.S. purchases
of Russian technology — including Soyuz spacecraft — as long as Russia
is exporting nuclear technology to Iran. The planned Congressional waiver
would have enabled NASA to use the Soyuz to transport astronauts to the
space station after 2010.

Now, the word from Washington is the waiver is DOA
and there’s no back-up plan for ISS. This turn of events is particularly
interesting considering Buzz Aldrin’s and other’s
recent comments about the lack of plans for a commercial vehicle
to reach ISS and opinion polls that revealed a relative lack of public
concern.

Unfortunately, an increase in tensions potentially
with Russia and/or other nations is expected based on the last 200 years
of international conflicts. Despite our desire to avoid it, some see a
return already to a Cold War mentality; for example, Russia’s recent attack
of Georgia has similarities to the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary. That
was rapidly followed by the surprise launch of Sputnik which triggered
the first race to space.

Hopefully this time we can avoid most of the violence
and engage cooperatively in our global 21st Century thrust into space,
as we approach the spectacular 2015 Maslow Window.

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